Improvement in fulling-mills



2 Sheets--She et 1.

R. ElCKEMEYER.

FuHing-Mills. N0. 144,841. Patented Nov. 25,1873.

UNITED STATES PATENT O FroE.

" RUDOLF EICKEMEYER, OF YONKERS, NEW YORK.

lMPROVEMENT IN FULLlNG-MILLS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 144,841 dated November25, 1873; application filed April 4, 1873.

To all whom "it may concern.-

Be it known that I, RUnoLF Emmi/rerun,

of Yonkers, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, havemade an invention of certain new and useful Improvements inFalling-Mills for Fulling Hat-Bodies, and for other purposes to whichthe said improvements may be applicable, of which the following is aspecification:

The objects of the invention are to prevent the articles upon which thefulling-mill is operating from moving too easily under the blows of thefulling-stocks; to enable the resistance opposed to such movement to beregulated with facility; to enable the speed of the fulling-stocks to bechanged; to enable the fall of the falling-stocks to be adjusted withfacility,

so as to vary the force of the blows; and to enable the falling-stocks,when set to a particular lift, to be raised the same distance from thearticles on which they are operating, how- 7 ever the positions of sucharticles in the bed may vary. To these ends my invention consists ofcertain combinations which are specified in detail at the close of thisschedule, and some of which may be used separately from others, as foundexpedient.

The principal members of these combinations are the following, viz: Afulling-stock, consisting substantially of a heater, which isconstructed to move to and fro, so as to strike the articles andwithdraw from them in alternate succession. An adjustable fulling-bed,having an adjustable apron or some equivalent therefor, by means ofwhich the concave space, in which the articles to be fulled lie,

.may be made more or less confined, so as to vary the resistance opposedto their movement under the blows of the fulling-stock. Adjustablemoving mechanism for moving the fulling-stock to different distances, soas to vary the force of the blow imparted by it. This adjustable raisingor moving mechanism may be constructed in various modes, but that whichI prefer consists of a strap and two griping-rollers, as hereinaftermore fully described. Mechanism for varying the speed of movement of thefulling-stock, so that the speed may be rapid when the extent ofmovement is small, and may be decreased when the extent of movement isincreased. Various 'ments in the best form known to me at the presenttime.

Figure 1 in said drawings represents an end view of the saidfulling-mill with some portions removed. Fig. 2 represents a top view ofthe same with portions removed. Fig. 3 represents a side view of thesame. Fig. 4 represents a view of certain parts of the ma.- chine,designated by the same letters as the same parts in the other figures. I

The fulling-mill represented in the said drawings has twofulling-stocks, A A, and a curved adjustable bed, B, to hold thearticles, while the fullingstocksare operating upon them. Thefulling-stocks, in this instance, are constructed in the usual manner,each consisting of a heater, to, which is connected, by a helve, b, witha frame, D, the helve being pivoted to the frame, as at 0, so that thefulling-stocks may be raised and may fall in circular arcs. Theadjustable fulling-bed is constructed with a movable apron, c, which isconnected with the residue of the vbed by means of a hinge, 0 so thatthe said apron may be set more or less forward to vary the area of thecurved concave space in which the articles are confined.

In order that the adjustment of the bed may be effected with facility,the upper side of the said apron c is connected, by two links, d, withthe arms d of a rock-shaft, (V, which is supported in suitable bearingsconnected with the frame of the fulling-mill, and is fitted at one endwith a crank-arm, G, by means of which it may be readily rocked to movethe upper end of the apron outward or inward.

In order that the apron may be secured in any position to which it maybe adjusted, a slotted segment, f, is made fast to the frame D, and aclamp-screw and nut f are provided to clamp the crank-arm C-to the saidsegment, so as to secure it, and thereby fix the positions I of therock-shaft, its arms, and the apron connected with the said arms.

In order to c'onfinethe articles more closely than can be effected bythe adjustment of the apron alone, and thereby oppose a greaterresistance to their movement when necessary, the upper part or tip 0 ofthe apron 0 is made adjustable relatively to the main portion thereof.To this end the said tip 0 is hinged to the apron 0, so that it may beset forward, as represented by the dotted lines in Fig. 3, and it isconnected with the apron by means of a slotted bar, f and clamp-screwand nut f so that the tip may be secured in any position to which it maybe adjusted.

The fulling-stocks A in the said fulling-mill are raised by thefollowingmeans Each fullingstock is fitted with a strap, E, whichascends and passes over a pulley, F, secured to the frame of themachine, and thence descends between a set of two griping-rollers, G G.The descending portion of each strap is thickened, as seen edgewise inFig. 3. One of these griping-rollers, G, is secured to a shaft, I, whichis arranged to revolve in bearings secured to the main frame I), and isfitted at its end with a cog-wheel, H, whose teeth engage with those ofa pinion, H, secured to the counter-shaft I and this counter-shaft isfitted with a set of cone-pulleys, J, for the driving-belt. The sec ondgriping-roller, G, of each set is secured to a shaft, 1 which issupported in bearings secured to a swinging frame, K, which is pressedtoward the shaft I of the first griping-rollers, G, by means of springsg, the said springs being, in this instance, india-rubber springs, andbeing slipped over tie-bolts h, which are pivoted to the main frame, andpass through holes in the upper ends of the arms of the swinging frameK. By means of these springs the gripin g-rollers are held together witha yielding pressure, and enabled to gripe strongly the strap betweenthem. The second griping-roller, G, of each set is caused to revolvesimultaneously with the first by connecting the two roller-shafts I I bymeans of the cog-wheels L L L L whose positions are represented indotted lines in Figs. 3 and 4:. The griping-rollers G G are partiallyeccentric, a portion of the barrel of each extending from 'i to i, inthe direction of the arrows in Fig. 4, being concentric, and theresidue, from i to t in the same direction, being eccentric, or of lessdiameter than the concentric portion 5 hence, when the two rollers of aset are caused to revolve simultaneously in opposite directions, andthetwo are arranged so that their concentric barrels simultaneously actupon opposite sides of the strap E, as seen at Fig. 3, the two gripe thestraps between them, and, pulling it downward, raise the fulling stockuntil the eccentric portions of the rollers come opposite each other. Asthese eccentric portions are separated by a space that is wider than thethickness of the strap, the rollers then cease to gripe the strap, thusreleasing it, and permitting the fulling-stock with which the strap isconnected to fall by gravitation. Each revolution of the set ofgriping-rollers thus causes the fulling-stock to rise, and permits itsdescent, and, as the rollers of the two sets are arranged with theireccentric portions diametrically apart, the two falling-stocks arecaused to rise and permitted to fall in succession. The falling-stockin-falling draws the strap upward between the griping-rollers until thefall isarrested by the articles in the bed B, or by the contact with theouter end of the helve with the stop j, whereupon the upward movement ofthe strap between the griping-rollers stops, and the strap remains readyto be griped by the opposing concentric portions of the griping-rollersin their revolution; but, as the position of the fulling-stock does notaffect the time during which the griping-rollers act upon the strap, thefulling-stock is moved to the same distance, whether it start from thesame place in the bed or not, which is a result that has not beenattained by the old system of lifting fulling-stocks by means ofrevolving wipers. In fulling hat-bodies it is expedient that the forceof the blow of the fullingstock, and, consequently, the distance towhich it is raised, in order to fall with force, should be varied as thefulling proceeds, the said articles being able to sustain progressivelymore forcible blows, as their substance becomes hardened by fulling. Inorder that the distance to which the fulling-stocks are raised may bevaried, so as to vary the force of the blows, the raising mechanism forraising the fullingstocks is constructed so as to be adjustable.

The construction which I prefer for this purpose is as follows: Theconnecting-wheels L L are pivoted to a movable frame, M, composed of twoarms, k k, and a link, 76. One of these arms is arranged to swing uponthe ad jacent roller-shaft I, as a center, and the other arm, 7;, uponthe other roller-shaft, in like manner, and the two arms are connectedby the link 70 consequently the connectingwheels L L may be movedrelatively to the wheels L L upon the roller-shafts without the teethbecoming disengaged; and the effect of this'movement is to change theangular positions of the wheels relatively to each other. As the wheelsmaintain their engagement .during such movement, the change in theangular positions of the wheels changes the relative positions of theconcentric portions of the barrels of the two griping-rollers of eachset, and if the two rollers be in the relative angular positionsrepresented at Fig. 3, when the connecting-wheels and the frame M havethe positions therein represented, the movement of the connecting-wheelsL L to the right hand partially turns the shaft I of the secondgriping-roller, G, relative to the first, I, as seen in Fig. 4, andconsequently causes a part of the eccentric portion of the secondgriping-roller, G to oppose the concentric portion of the firstgriping-roller, G. Hence,

the pressure upon the strap will be released a lever, N which is pivotedupon the end of the shaft d The longer arm of this lever forms ahand-lever for moving the adjustingfi'ame M; and the latter may besecured in any desired position in which it may be adjusted by fasteningthe hand-lever by means of the slotted segment 8 and clamp-screw and nuts.

In order that the articles in the mill may be sprinkled or steamed, aperforated pipe, P, is provided, one of its arms being connected by astop-cock with a pipe leading from a steamboiler, and the other armbeing connected in like manner with a supply of water. The fulling-millalso is provided with' gags t for catching and holding thefulling-stocks when their movements are to be arrested. The combinationof the raising mechanism of the fullingstock with a cone-pulley, J,enables the speed with which the stocks are raised to be varied, so asto effect a great saving of time. Thus, when the articles are firstcharged into the mill, the adjustable raising mechanism is so set as toraise the fulling-stocks but a short distance; hence, at this period,the blows may be made with great rapidity. As the work proceeds, theadjustable raising mechanism may be adjusted to raise the fulling-stockshigher; consequently, they must then be operated more slowly, and thisis readily accomplished by shifting the driving-belt to a largerpulley-grade. If the raising mechanism were driven only at one speed, asis the customary arrangement, the speed could be only that which can beused with the greatest lift of the stocks; and, consequently, when thestocks are lifted but little, they would remain at rest for considerableperiods before they were again raised, and much time would be lost. Thecombination, in the same fulling-mill, of the adjustable bed, and theadjustable raising mechanism for the falling-stocks, is of a greatpractical value, as it enables the movement of the articles being fulledto be resisted as the blows of the fulling stocks become more forcible,and prevents the articles from escaping from the fulling-stocks morerapidly than is desirable for rapid work.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, substantially as before setforth, of the adjustable tip and the adjustable apron of the bed of thefulling-mill.

2. The combination, substantially as before set forth, of thefulling-stock with adjustable raising mechanism, which is adjustable tovary the distance to which the fulling-stock is raised, so that theforce of the blow can be varied as the fulling progresses.

3. The combination, substantially as before set forth, of the adjustablebed for the fullingmill, the fulling-stock, and the adjustable raisingmechanism for the fulling-stock, so that the resistance to the movementof the articles may be increased when the forcc of the blow isincreased.

4. The combination, substantially as before set forth, of thefulling-stock, the adjustable raising mechanism therefor, and thecone-pulley for varying the number of strokes of the fulling-stock in agiven time.

5. The combination, substantially as before set forth, of the fulling-stock, the raising-strap, and the griping-rollers.

6. The combination, substantially as before set forth, of the raisingstrap, the eccentric griping-rollers, and the adjusting mechanism forvarying the relative angular positions of said rollers, so as to varythe time during which they operate upon the raising-strap.

RUDOLF EIOKEMEYER.

Witnesses:

L. W. How, W. L. BENNEM.

